We all have our own story ... some are sadder than others but in the end we all have one. Here is mine: I was left to live with my father at the age of eleven months with my sister (five years old), brother (three years old), and brother (two years old). My father left us after a week in an abandoned home where it flooded and neighbors advised my grandmother of what was going on. She picked us up and raised us until the age of seven years old. My mother then came back for us (she had left to work and make a better life for us) and took us to live with her.
I lived a pretty tough childhood ... lots of verbal and physical abuse. I was accused of a broken relationship between my mother and step-father and was beaten constantly over that. Little did I know what the reality was about the whole situation. In my teenage years the abuse continued—I was always accused of dating boys and called all kinds of names by my mother. I became afraid of relationships and didn’t date boys because I was afraid of the good beatings I would receive.
When I became eighteen years old I left my home to work and go to college. Despite all the misery I went through, I had a lot of dreams and wanted to get out and make a good life for myself. I moved 1,200 miles away from my home to start a new life. I worked and went to school ... I did really good at work and started getting promoted. At the age of twenty three years old I had my little girl. The person who fathered her was not around ... it was an unhealthy thing therefore I decided to move away. I continued to do really good at work and got a big promotion, with lots of responsibility but I enjoyed it. I dated a second individual but because of my upbringings I was always afraid of expressing my feelings. Therefore it ended really quickly. I went on with my life as a single parent for a while until I met a new person. He was great ... the type of man that you envision yourself getting married with. At the beginning he was very attentive, such a gentleman, always making me feel special with gifts, and little things here and there that he would do for me and my little girl. We had a five year relationship ... I decided to give myself a chance but unfortunately it was with the wrong person. He manipulated me, made me think I wasn’t good enough for anyone, that I was dumb, insignificant.
